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Frederick Elmes

Camera

Born November 4, 1946 · Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, USA

Also known as Fred Elmes · Fredrick Elmes

Biography

Frederick Elmes, ASC (born November 4, 1946) is an American cinematographer, known for his association with the independent film movement. He is a long-time collaborator of directors David Lynch, Ang Lee, Charlie Kaufman, Jim Jarmusch, and Todd Solondz. He has won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography twice, for Wild at Heart (1990) and Night on Earth (1991), and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series for The Night Of (2016). Born in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, Elmes studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology and then attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, graduating in 1972. He enrolled in the Graduate Film Program at New York University's Department of Film and Television and graduated in 1975. At the American Film Institute, Elmes met aspiring film director David Lynch, who hired him for Eraserhead (1977). Since then the two have collaborated on Blue Velvet (1986) and Wild at Heart (1990). Elmes is also a frequent collaborator with directors Ang Lee and Jim Jarmusch. Elmes has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers since 1993. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frederick Elmes, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Sitges Film Festival Best cinematography · 1986

Filmography48 titles

The Night Of

2016Director of Photography

A Woman Under the Influence

1974Assistant Camera

Olive Kitteridge

2014Director of Photography

Blue Velvet

1986Director of Photography

Synecdoche, New York

2008Director of Photography

Night on Earth

1991Director of Photography

Brothers

2009Director of Photography

Eraserhead

1977Director of Photography, Special Effects

Hunters

2020Director of Photography

Paterson

2016Director of Photography

Moonwalker

1988Director of Photography

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

1976Camera Operator

Wild at Heart

1990Director of Photography

Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8

1987Director of Photography

Broken Flowers

2005Director of Photography

Coffee and Cigarettes

2003Director of Photography

The Ice Storm

1997Director of Photography

The Namesake

2006Director of Photography

Modern Romance

1981Camera Operator

A Late Quartet

2012Director of Photography

The Saint of Fort Washington

1993Director of Photography

Real Genius

1985Second Unit Director of Photography

Kinsey

2004Director of Photography

Heaven

1987Director of Photography

Storytelling

2001Director of Photography

River's Edge

1986Director of Photography

Father Mother Sister Brother

2025Director of Photography

Permanent Record

1988Director of Photography

Horns

2013Director of Photography

Ride with the Devil

1999Director of Photography

Red Dawn

1984Second Unit Director of Photography

Bride Wars

2009Director of Photography

A Dog Year

2009Director of Photography

Trapped

2002Director of Photography

Dune

1984Second Unit Director of Photography

Wilson

2017Director of Photography

In the Gloaming

1997Director of Photography

Valley Girl

1983Director of Photography

Chain of Fools

2000Director of Photography

Hulk

2003Director of Photography

The Dead Don't Die

2019Director of Photography

Trial by Jury

1994Director of Photography

Aria

1987Director of Photography

Cold Dog Soup

1990Director of Photography

The Amputee

1974Director of Photography

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

1986Camera Technician, Director of Photography

The Jesus Rolls

2019Director of Photography

Invasion of the Blood Farmers

1972Assistant Camera